Wells Fargo to Help Inland Empire and Los Angeles Customers Facing Mortgage Payment Challenges

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is hosting a free Home Preservation Workshop in the Inland Empire for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing financial hardships. Wells Fargo has invited more than 16,000 mortgage customers in Riverside, San Bernardino and surrounding counties to the free workshops which will be held on both Tuesday, February 14, 2012 and Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., at the Ontario Convention Center – located at 2000 East Convention Center Way, Ontario. Parking is free – customers should refer to the event website for instructions.

In addition to the Inland Empire event, Wells Fargo will host an additional Southern California Home Preservation Workshop on March 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. at the Los Angeles Convention Center located at 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles.

How to register for Wells Fargo’s Inland Empire Home Preservation Workshop

Walk-ins are welcome, but registration is strongly recommended in order to guarantee the ability to meet one-on-one with a representative. Sign up by Sunday, February 12 at www.wfhmevents.com/leadingthewayhome. For more information call 1-800-405-8067.

“Wells Fargo wants our customers to succeed financially and helping struggling borrowers find options to help families stay in their homes in this difficult economy is a top priority,” said Diana Stauffer, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage senior vice president and regional servicing director for California. “This workshop gives Wells Fargo and Wachovia home mortgage customers, who are faced with payment challenges, the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our home preservation specialists to explore and discuss the options available for them.”

Approximately 100 Wells Fargo home retention team members – including bilingual specialists – will be on hand at the upcoming workshop to assist customers. Where possible, borrowers will receive a decision on a workout, loan modification, or other options, on site or shortly following the workshop. Options include Wells Fargo’s own loan modification program and the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Inland Empire and Los Angeles events will be the fifth and sixth workshops in the Southern California region since 2010. The company hosted four previous events in Ontario, Irvine, Pasadena and San Diego, where home preservation specialists met one-on-one with more than 2,600 homeowners facing mortgage payment challenges.

Wells Fargo will hold several more Home Preservation Workshops in 2012, including Sacramento (Feb. 8-9), Ontario (Feb. 14 – 15), Fresno, Calif. (Feb. 23). Wells Fargo has met with more than 30,000 customers at 52 Home Preservation Workshops since Sept. 2009. Customers across the country facing mortgage payment difficulties can also call 1-800-678-7986 for more information about potential options to help avoid foreclosure.

About Wells Fargo’s Home Loans

• Wells Fargo originates one in every four home loans in the country, and services one of every six.

 

• In the third quarter of 2011, more than 92 percent of Wells Fargo’s mortgage customers remained current on their loan payments.

 

• Since January 2009 through October 2011, the company had 721,116 active trial and completed modifications. Of those modifications, 84 percent were done through Wells Fargo’s own modification programs and 16 percent were through the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

 

• As of the third quarter in 2011, Wells Fargo’s delinquency and foreclosure rates remain significantly below the industry average.

 

• Less than 2.0 percent of the loans secured by owner-occupied homes and serviced by Wells Fargo resulted in a foreclosure sale in the last 12 months.

 

• Just 7.63 percent of the first mortgage and home equity loans Wells Fargo services were past due or in foreclosure in the third quarter of 2011 compared to an industry average of 10.70 percent. Wells Fargo’s totals are down from a peak of 8.96 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

 

About Wells Fargo

In the Inland Empire, Wells Fargo & Company (NSE: WFC) serves consumers and businesses through 88 retail stores, 286 ATMs, and employs 3,853 team members. In 2011, Wells Fargo donated $4.9 million to more than 460 Southern California schools and nonprofits.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com and wachovia.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.